Brassiere



G. D. LEONARD. BRASSI'ERE.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 3, I919.

Patented J an. 20, 1920.

INV N R e4( BY mam; ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GOLDSTONE D. LEONARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BRASSIERE.

Application filed April 3, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GOLDSTONE D. LEON- ARE), a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brassieres, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to brassieres or bust supporters, particularly designed for use during pregnancy and has for its object to provide a construction which will permit the wearer to easily put on or remove the brassiere without stretching her arms backwardly and t0 open the brassiere in front for nursing and which will also be adjustable so as to fit her bust at all times during the period of pregnancy.

Brassieres of the hitherto used construction have been made to open either atthe back or at the front. Vhen made to open only in front the brassieres could not be adjustable except by elastics. But elastics are objectionable for they exert an undue pressure on the body. WVhen the brassieres are made to open only at the back they are obj ectionable because the wearer could not conveniently and without straining herself and without assistance close-the back. There is also the drawback that for nursing purposes she must entirely remove the brassiere.

To obviate these drawbacks my invention consists in a brassiere which opens at the 'front and the back of which is split from a point somewhat below the upper edge to the bottom and is so cut that the split portions will always overlap one another. The overlapping portions have each a lace or ribbon attached thereto and adapted to be tied together in front. By such construction the brassiere will be rendered adjustable and the adjustability will not be confined to the waistline but apply to the entire body of the brassiere.

My invention also resides in the particular construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing in which similar reference characters denote corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my new brassiere and Fig. 2 a rear elevation thereof.

The new brassiere which is made of suitable fabric is constructed of two symmetrical sections a and b which are so cut that Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Serial No. 287,295.

while the front edge of each section is on a straight vertical line the rear edge of each section is on an outwardly and downwardly inclined line so that when the two sections are assembled or placed beside one another the rear portions thereof will overlap their corresponding rear edges (Z, (Z eXtending in opposite directions and forming a triangle whose apex is in the center of the upper edge of the back portion of the brassiere and the base on the waist line thereof. By stitches formed in a dart-like form around a small upper portion of the said triangle, a joint 0 is formed whereby the two sections are permanently connected. The rest of the triangle or of the edges of the back portions of the sections a and b are left disconnected or free. Thus the two sections are permanently joined together only at a very short upper part of the back, the joint 0 acting as a sort of a pivot. Attached to the bottom of the back of each section is a lace or ribbon e, 6 adapted to extend in opposite directions and to be folded around the waistline of the wearer and tied to a knot in front. According to the varying size and shape of the bust of the wearer the overlapping portions will readjust themselves automatically upon the untying of the laces. The section 6 has an opening f through which the lace c which extends on the inside of the back of the said section will be guided and passed outwardly (Fig. 2). The other section a has a loop 9 through which the lace or ribbon c of the other section is guided.

The adjoining front edges of the brassiere are adapted to be fastened together by hooks and eyes it, press buttons or other suitable means.

The advantage of this novel construction is that the back portions being permanently connected at practically a single point on top and tied at their bottom while holding the bust in shape will be capable of yielding to the slightest pressure and thereby relieve the wearer of the uncomfortable feeling of tightness.

Projecting down from the front part of one of the sections is an elastic or ribbon i which carries a member j in form of a loop or the like adapted to engage a button or the like applied to a lower part of the corset or any other wearing apparel.

The front parts of the haltes are provided with dart like or triangular incisions which are covered by correspondingly shaped pieces 70 stitched to the material of the brassiere. The base portions of these pieces which are located at the waistline are bent around to form tubular pockets in which elastics Z are inserted. By these elastics the lower portions of the dart like pieces are shirred, thereby providing sufficient fullness to permit the shape of the brassiere to conform with that of the busts. The brassiere is put on and removed like a jacket by slipping the arms through the'armholes a, b. After closing the front by means of the fasteners h, the laces e projecting fro-m the lower edges of the backs are folded around the waistline and after drawing the backs together to the desired tightness the laces are tied to a knot.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A brassiere composed of two side sections,

the rear edges of Which are slanting in opposite directions so that the adjoining rear parts of said sections will overlap one another throughout their entire length, said sections being permanently joined to one another only at the adjoining upper ends of their rear edges, fastening means along the front edges of said sections and a ribbon fastened to the lower end of the rear edge of each section, said ribbons being adapted to be passed around the Waist line of the wearer and to be tied in front for the adjustment of the brassiere in width.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GOLDSTONE D. LEONARD.

Witnesses:

MAX D. ORDMANN, EDW. E. VINCENT. 

